What to do complaint, comment or compliment
if you have a
about your local NHS Primary Care Health Services
For people living in
Kirklees
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Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 2. Compliments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 3. Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 4. What services does the PCT provide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 5. Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 6. Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 7. Who can complain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 8. Under the NHS complaints system, we can’t deal with‌ . . . . . . . . . .6 9. What stages are involved in making a complaint? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Stage 1 - Local Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Complaints against your family doctor, dentist, pharmacist or optician Complaints against the Primary Care Trust Stage 2 - Independent Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 The Ombudsman 10. Contact details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 11. Complaints, comments and compliments form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
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1. Introduction Kirklees Primary Care Trust aims to provide a high quality service but occasionally things can go wrong. When they do, please let us know so that we can try to put them right for you and learn from the experience to improve our services for other people. Anything you tell us will be treated as confidential under the complaints process. This leaflet tells you what to do if you wish to complain and what will happen at various stages afterwards.
We will do all that we can to help and assist you through the complaints process – we can produce this leaflet or correspond with you in large print. If English is not your first language then the interpreting service can be accessed by telephoning 01484 344275. For full contact details see page 10.
2. Compliments It is important for us to know when something has worked well. This information could assist us in sharing good practice and improving services. If you wish to praise a service, a member of staff or a team please let us know by completing the form at the back of this booklet.
3. Comments We are always looking at ways to improve our services. If you have any comments about the services we provide locally, please use the form at the back of this booklet to tell us what you think.
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4. What services does the Primary Care Trust provide? Our responsibilities cover four main areas 1. Administering the services provided by family doctors, dentists, pharmacists and opticians; 2. Buying a full range of healthcare services for local people, including hospital treatment locally and in surrounding areas; 3. Identifying and making recommendations on public health matters affecting the local population, eg lifestyle, specific diseases, control of infection, complementary therapies and the availability of certain specialised treatments. 4. Providing the following community health services: • • • • • • • • • • •
District nursing. Health visiting. Out of hours nursing. School nursing. Specialist child protection nursing services and health visitors for the homeless. Specialist diabetic community nursing. Health promotion. Community dental. Community equipment. Continence service. Contraception and sexual health service.
• Rehabilitation.
Examples of other areas which may concern you or you may wish to comment on: • Transferring to a new GP. • • • •
The use of funding and resources. Policy decisions. Specialist treatments which are not being purchased. Treatments available on a limited basis.
• The attitude and manner of Primary Care Trust staff. 5
5. Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) People often need help and support when they use health services. Being ill or in need of care can be stressful and to some people health care can be intimidating. Even in the best-run parts of health care provision, things can go wrong from time to time and this is where PALS comes in PALS will help to: • resolve patients concerns quickly and efficiently. • provide information to patients. • act as a catalyst for change by feeding back views of patients and carers in order to improve services and care. In addition PALS can refer patients and carers to partner organisations, provide information on how to make a complaint about services and act as a gateway for the public and patients to become involved in shaping services. See contact details on page 10.
6. Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service (ICAS) You can get independent help and advice from ICAS which is provided by the Carers Federation. See contact details on page 10.
7. Who can complain? Anyone who has received any services provided by the NHS. This can mean you as a patient, or a friend or relative acting on your behalf (with your consent). You should normally make a complaint within six months of the incident causing the problem, or within six months of the date you discovered the problem. This time limit can be extended in certain circumstances and each case will be judged individually.
8. Under the NHS complaints system, we can’t deal with: • Complaints about private treatment; • Complaints about local authority social services; 6
• Events about which you are already taking legal action; • Events which need to be investigated by a professional disciplinary body (please see next section).
Disciplinary matters If your complaint is against a family doctor, dentist, pharmacist or optician any disciplinary action identified will only be started after the complaint investigation has been completed. If your complaint is against one of the Primary Care Trusts’ personnel and disciplinary action is indicated, the complaints procedure will be stopped and the matter will be investigated under the Primary Care Trust’s disciplinary procedure.
9. What stages are involved in making a complaint? There are two main stages:Stage 1 - Local Resolution; and Stage 2 - Independent Review We hope that most complaints will be resolved within Stage 1. This aims to give you a quick and satisfactory response from the people concerned. However, if this fails you have the option of Independent Review.
Stage 1 - Local Resolution Complaints against your family doctor, dentist, pharmacist or optician If your complaint is against a family health service practitioner, that is, a family doctor, dentist, pharmacist or optician, you should talk to them first to try to sort things out. Don’t be afraid to say how you feel. All practices have their own Local Resolution procedures for dealing with problems and complaints. These have to meet nationally agreed standards and information on making a complaint should be available from the practice.
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If you don’t want to do this for any reason, or are not happy with the reply you have received, you can then take the matter further by telephoning or writing to the Complaints Manager at the Primary Care Trust. Full contact details are on page 10.
What happens next? Once the Primary Care Trust has received your complaint we will do our best to sort things out between you and the practice concerned, in one of two ways: 1. by acting as "go-between" in asking the practice to investigate the problem and letting you have a satisfactory explanation; or 2. by arranging an informal meeting between you and the practice and one of our independent lay conciliators. Hopefully, by then matters will have been cleared up to your satisfaction but, if not, we will tell you how to ask for an Independent Review.
Complaints against the Primary Care Trust Verbal complaints You can make a complaint verbally to any member of staff, who will deal with it "on the spot" if possible. If your complaint cannot be resolved on the spot, the staff member will record the details and pass them to the designated Manager in the department or to the Primary Care Trust’s Complaints Manager. It will then be treated as a written complaint. You have the right to complain directly to the Primary Care Trust’s Complaints Manager or the Chief Executive. Contact details are on page 10.
Written complaints If it is possible to deal with a complaint immediately a response from the Chief Executive will be sent to you within five working days.
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If not, your complaint will be acknowledged within two working days and passed on to the relevant member of staff for investigation and report. Our aim is to send you a final written response from the Chief Executive within twenty-five working days. If this is not possible the Complaints Manager will keep you informed of progress. The final letter from the Chief Executive will tell you of your right to ask for an Independent Review if you are dissatisfied with the outcome.
Redirecting complaints Sometimes a complaint is about something which should be dealt with by another body, eg a local hospital, rather than the Primary Care Trust. In this case, the Primary Care Trust’s Complaints Manager will pass your letter on to them for investigation and reply.
Stage 2 - Independent Review If you remain dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you have the right to ask the Healthcare Commission to review your case. You must do this within six months of receipt of the final letter from the practice or the PCTs’ Chief Executive. The Healthcare Commission is an independent body established to promote improvements in healthcare through the assessment of the performance of those who provide services. Contact details are on page 10.
The Ombudsman The Health Service Ombudsman is completely independent of both the NHS and of the Government. They can investigate complaints about NHS services and complaints about how the complaints procedure is working. The Ombudsman does not have to investigate every complaint put to them. As a rule they take on a complaint only if it has first been through the NHS complaints procedure. If you want advice on whether to ask them to investigate, you can telephone or write to their office. Contact details are shown on page 10. 9
10. Contact details The Complaints Manager or Chief Executive Kirklees Primary Care Trust St Luke’s House Blackmoorfoot Road Crosland Moor Huddersfield HD4 5RH Tel: 01484 466000 Fax: 01484 466151 Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) If you live in the Huddersfield area: Kirklees Primary Care Trust St Luke’s House Blackmoorfoot Road Crosland Moor Huddersfield HD4 5RH Tel: 01484 466172 Fax: 01484 466151 Email: pals@kirkleespct.nhs.uk If you live in the Batley/Dewsbury/Spen Kirklees Primary Care Trust Beckside Court Bradford Road Batley, WF17 5PW Freephone: 0800 587 2417 Fax: 01924 475212 e-mail: pals@kirkleespct.nhs.uk Linkworkers Interpreting Services Kirklees Primary Care Trust Princess Royal Health Centre Greenhead Road Huddersfield HD1 4EW Tel: 01484 344275 Fax: 01484 344347 10
Healthcare Commission FREEPOST NAT 18958 Complaints Investigation Team Manchester M1 9XZ Tel: 0845 601 3012 Fax: 020 7448 9180 Email: complaints@ healthcarecommission.org.uk Health Service Ombudsman for England Millbank Tower Millbank London SW1P 4QP Tel: 0845 015 4033 Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service (ICAS) Provided by Carers Federation Tel: 0845 120 3734 (local rate) CRUSE Bereavement Care Anyone can contact CRUSE Bereavement Care if they want to talk about themselves or someone they know who has been affected by a death. Tel: 0870 167 1677
11. Complaints, comments and compliments form Please use the space below and over the page to tell us about your complaint, comment or compliment.
❑ I wish to complain ❑ I wish to compliment ❑ I wish to comment
............................................................... ............................................................... ............................................................... ............................................................... ............................................................... ............................................................... ............................................................... ............................................................... ............................................................... ...............................................................
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............................................................... Continued overleaf./…
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Mr / Mrs / Ms / Miss / Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................................... ............................................................... Postcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tel no . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Signed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Please return to the Complaints Manager at the address below.
Kirklees Primary Care Trust St Luke’s House Blackmoorfoot Road Crosland Moor Huddersfield HD4 5RH
www.kirklees-pct.nhs.uk Date of publication: October 2006 Ref:EF/3/corporate services/complaints/GG1703 © Kirklees Primary Care Trust